Method and apparatus for making angle spark plug terminals

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for forming angle spark plug terminals, whereby the end of a cable is inserted into an open portion of a two-part integral terminal unit comprising an open portion and a closed cylindrical portion separated by an undercut bridge portion. A vertically movable die means acts to crimp the open portion of the unit around the cable and simultaneously forces a detent into the cable to connect the cable to the terminal unit. The die means also simultaneously effects a bending of the closed portion around the bridge portion into a predetermined angle relative to the remainder of the assembly. The terminal units are initially formed in a strip with connecting means therebetween in order to provide effective linear feed movement of the terminal units. Simultaneously with the coupling, crimping and bending of each assembly, the next preceding assembly is severed therefrom, through the connecting means, by the same movement of the die means.

llnited States Patent 1 Erlichman et al.

[ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ANGLE SPARK PLUG TERMINALS [75 Inventors: Stanton Roy Erlichman, Villanova; Harold Woolf, Norman Baker, both of Philadelphia, all of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Richards Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

22 Filed: Dec. 6, 1971 211 App]. No.: 205,117

[52] [1.5. CI..... 29/203 D, 29/203 DT, 29/203 DTS, 29/629, 29/630, 29/630 A [51] lint. Cl. H0lr [58] Field of Search 29/629, 630, 630 A, 29/203 D, 203 DT, 203 DTS [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,494,137 8/1945 Mertines 29/630 A 2,254,117 8/1941 Keller 29/630 A 3,668,764 6/1972 Randar 29/630 A 2,765,468 10/1956 Cootes et al.... 29/203 D 2,768,425 10/1956 Andren 29/630 A 2,873,511 2/1959 Folkenroth 29/203 D 3,030,694 4/1962 Kerstetter et al. 29/630 A [451 July 1973 Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-James R. Duzan Attorney-Arthur A. Jacobs [57] ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for forming angle spark plug terminals, whereby the end of a cable is inserted into an open portion of a two-part integral terminal unit comprising an open portion and a closed cylindrical portion separated by an undercut bridge portion. A vertically movable die means acts to crimp the open portion of the unit around the cable and simultaneously forces a detent into the cable to connect the cable to the-terminal unit. The die means also simultaneously effects a bending of the closed portion around the bridge portion into a predetermined angle relative to the remainder of the assembly. The terminal units are initially formed in a strip with connecting means therebetween in order to provide effective linear feed movement of the terminal units. Simultaneously with the coupling, crimping and bending of each assembly, the next preceding assembly is severed therefrom, through the connecting means, by the same movement of the die means.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTED JUL 2 4 I973 sum 3 or 3 where the terminal is axially aligned with the cable since it would then be difficult if not impossible to find room for maneuver of the cable while attaching the terminal to the spark plug. It has been found that this difficulty can be obviated by attaching the terminal to the cable in an offset position so that it can be moved laterally into position on the spark plug.

In order to form such offset terminal assemblies, it was heretofore generally necessary to use at least two or, sometimes, more than two, separate operations, whereby the cable is first attached to the terminal and then the terminal is bent into the desired offset position. This increased both the cost of labor and the time involved in producing these assemblies; especially since no machinery was available to effectivey and automatically carry out these steps.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which is capable of attaching the terminal to the cable and simultaneously bending the terminal into the desired offset position in a single stage.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus of the aforesaid type which is relatively simple in operation and construction and which is relatively inexpensive, requiring a minimum of operating technique on the part of the worker and a minimum of machinery to accomplish the purpose.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showingthe manner of bending the terminal.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section and partly in elevation, taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3, showing the initial step of connecting the terminal to the cable.

FIG. 6 is a view, taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 4, showing the second step.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the terminal units connected in a strip thereof, and showing a cable end prior to assembly.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the assembled terminal and cable prior to bending of the terminal.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the angle spark plug completed terminal assembly.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein-similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 a machine, generally designated 10, comprising a base 12 having a table 14 extending laterally therefrom. The base 12 is provided with a flat surface over which the terminal blanks (hereinafter more fully described) move.

A vertically movable die mechanism, generally designated 16, is provided with sleeve portions 18 (note FIG. 2) which slidably embrace corresponding guide posts 20 extending upwardly from the base 12.

The base 12 is provided with a vertically slidable support plate 22 having a concave anvil portion 24 at its upper end, (see FIG. 2). The plate 22 is biased upwardly by springs 26. Laterally spaced from the anvil 24 is a stop member 28, (see FIG. 3) which is biased upwardly by a spring 30 positioned in a channel 32.

Forwardly of the die mechanism 16 are spaced walls 34 which support a rotatable shaft 36. Mounted on this shaft 36 is the upper end of an arm 38 which, at its lower end, is pivotally connected at 40 to a link 42. The link 42 is, in turn, pivotally connected at 44 to a lever 46 which is integral with a finger 48 at one end and with a handle 50 at the other end.

Also mounted on the pin 44 is a link 52 to which is connected, as at 54, one end of a spring 56. The other end of spring 56 is connected to a rotatable shaft 58 which pivotally connects a finger 60 to a bracket 62 mounted on the table 14. A spring 64 is positioned between the handle 50 and the link 52, while a spring 66 is positioned between the finger 60 and the table 14.

Mounted on the shaft 36, coaxially with the arm 38, is a lever 68 which, at its upper end, is provided with a cam follower roller 70. The roller 70 is arranged to bear against a cam surface 72 of a cam 74 connected at 76 to the die mechanism 16. Also connected to the die mechanism 16 is a ring 78 through which extends an eccentric shaft 80 eccentrically connected to an electric motor or the like (not shown). The shaft 86, as it rotates around an arc, acts as a crank arm whereby it contacts the upper portion of the ring 78 during one portion of its movement to lift the die mechanism, together with the cam 74, upwardly, while during another portion of its movement it contacts the lower portion of the ring to press the die mechanism downwardly.

The die mechanism 16 includes a concave, semicircular die portion 82 (note, particularly, FIGS. 5 and 6) and a downwardly-depending blade 84 laterally spaced from the die portion 82. The blade 84 is movable into and out of an aperture 86 integral with a channel 88 in the base 12.

The terminal units, designated 90, prior to insertion in the presently described machine, are formed connected together in a continuous strip by means of connecting portions 91 (note, especially, FIG. 1). In this manner, they can be fed continuously through the machine. The units, themselves, comprise a closed tubular portion 92 and an open portion 94, the two portions being connected by a bridge portion 96 defined by recesses 98, whereby this bridge portion is sufficiently reduced in section to bend easily without breaking. A prong 100 is struck up from the bottom of the portion 94.

The individual lengths of cable 102 are arranged laterally on any appropriate conveyor mechanism such as a chain conveyor or the like, indicated at 104 (note FIG. 3), and are fed by said conveyor into operative position, as shown in FIG. 3, in timed relationship with the vertical movement of the die mechanism. This timed relationship may be obtained in any standard manner, such as by appropriate gearing or the like, connected to the motor which actuates the crank arm shaft 80.

The end portions of the cables 102 are individually moved into the die cavity 82 in overlying relationship to the open portion 94 of a corresponding terminal unit 90 held in the complementary anvil 24. The die mechanism 16 is then caused to move downwardly to compress the open portion 94 around the cable. At the same time, the prong 100 is pushed into the cable to form an interlock and a positive electrical connection between the terminal unit and the cable insulation.

While the compressive force of the die mechanism is taking place, the plate 22, although initially biased upwardly by the springs 26 with sufficient force to enable compression of the portion 94 and engagement of the prong 100 to be effected, is thereafter pushed downwardly, against the force of the springs 26, for a suifficinet distance to cause a bending to take place in the bridge portion 96 (see FIG. 4), the shoulder 106 acting as an anvil to effect such bending. In this manner, the terminal unit is both applied to the cable and bent into the desired shape at the same time.

The terminal units are fed into the machine in timed relationship with the movement of the conveyor 104 by means of the finger 48 which intermittently is actuated through the link 42 and the arm 38 to move into position behind one of the terminal units, push the unit forwardly into the die area, and then retract to engage the rear end of the next succeeding unit. This movement of the finger 48 is effected by movement of the crank arm shaft 80. In operation, when the crank shaft moves to raise the die mechanism 16, it moves the cam 74 upwardly, thereby permitting the spring 56 to retract the finger 48. When the crank shaft moves to lower the die mechanism 16, the cam surface 72 bears down against the follower roller 70 during the initial portion of the downward travel, and, thereupon, actuates the lever 68 and its connecting linkage to engage the finger 48 with the terminal unit and push it forwardly. This action is completed by the time the die portion 82 is in operative position. Upon upward movement of the die mechanism, the cam moves upwardly and the finger 48 is permitted to be retracted by the spring 56.

Upon completion of the spark plug terminal assembly, the assembled unit is moved into the next position upon further actuation of the finger 48. Thereupon, with the succeeding downward movement of the die mechanism, the cutoff blade 84 is moved downwardly to sever the finished assembly from the following unit by slicing through the connecting portion 91. In order to prevent kickback resulting from the severing action, the finger 60 is biased by spring 66 to abut the rear end of the next succedding terminal unit.

The handle 50 is provided as an auxiliary manuallyoperable device to prevent jamming of the machine. If jamming should occur, the handle 50 is pushed down, against the bias of the spring 64, whereby the finger 48 is retracted and feeding is halted until the jammed piece can be removed.

The invention claimed is:

I. A machine for forming and assembling angle spark plug terminals comprising a base, a first anvil on said base, said anvil being movable relative to said base and being resiliently biased into a predetermined position, a die means operatively connected to said base and movable toward and away from said base, reciprocating means operatively connected to said die means for moving said die means toward and away from said base, a die portion on said die means, said die portion being in alignment with said first anvil and being generally complementary thereto, a second anvil rigidly connected to said base and being laterally spaced from said first anvil, a blade connected to said die means and being laterally spaced from said second anvil, a feed table operatively connected to said base, said feed table extending from said base transversely to the direction of movement of said die means, said feed table being constructed and arranged to support a linear strip of terminal units during linear feed movement of said strip toward said die means, said strip comprising a series of terminal units connected to each other by severable connecting portions, feed means operatively connected to said die means, said feed means being constructed and arranged to intermittently move successive terminal units of said strip between said die portion and said first anvil in timed relation with the reciprocating movement of said die means, conveyor means constructed and arranged to bring successive cables into position within said die portion while said die portion is spaced from said first anvil and while a first portion of a terminal unit is positioned on said first anvil, said die means being constructed and arranged to bring said die portion and a cable held thereby against said first portion of said terminal unit while said first portion is positioned on said first anvil, and while it is integral with said linear strip, with sufficient force to crimp said first portion of said terminal unit around said cable while simultaneously depressing said first anvil against its resilient bias, said second anvil being constructed and arranged to rigidly support a second portion of said terminal unit during the depression of said first anvil whereby said second portion is bent relative to said first portion to form an angle terminal assembly, and said blade being constructed and arranged to simultaneously sever a preceding terminal assembly from that being formed.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said feed means comprises a finger constructed and arranged to abut the rear ends of successive terminal units and being connected by operative linkage to a cam follower, said cam follower being in engagement with a cam, said cam being reciprocably movable relative to said base in conjunction wiht said die means, said cam being constructed and arranged to act through said cam follower and linkage to move said finger toward said first anvil during initial movement of said die means toward said base, and biasing means resiliently urging said finger in the opposite direction.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said finger is provided with a manually actuatable handle constructed and arranged to withdraw said finger from abutment against a terminal unit, said handle being resiliently biased against the withdrawal of said finger.

4. The machine of claim 2 wherein a second pivoted finger is positioned on said table in linearly spaced relation to said first-mentioned finger, the spacing therebetween corresponding to the length of a terminal unit, said second finger being constructed and arranged to abut against the rear end of the next succeeding terminal unit to prevent kickback during severance of a completed assembly.

5. The machine of claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means is a crank shaft connected to an acutating mo- 

1. A machine for forming and assembling angle spark plug terminals comprising a base, a first anvil on said base, said anvil being movable relative to said base and being resiliently biased into a predetermined position, a die means operatively connected to said base and movable toward and away from said base, Reciprocating means operatively connected to said die means for moving said die means toward and away from said base, a die portion on said die means, said die portion being in alignment with said first anvil and being generally complementary thereto, a second anvil rigidly connected to said base and being laterally spaced from said first anvil, a blade connected to said die means and being laterally spaced from said second anvil, a feed table operatively connected to said base, said feed table extending from said base transversely to the direction of movement of said die means, said feed table being constructed and arranged to support a linear strip of terminal units during linear feed movement of said strip toward said die means, said strip comprising a series of terminal units connected to each other by severable connecting portions, feed means operatively connected to said die means, said feed means being constructed and arranged to intermittently move successive terminal units of said strip between said die portion and said first anvil in timed relation with the reciprocating movement of said die means, conveyor means constructed and arranged to bring successive cables into position within said die portion while said die portion is spaced from said first anvil and while a first portion of a terminal unit is positioned on said first anvil, said die means being constructed and arranged to bring said die portion and a cable held thereby against said first portion of said terminal unit while said first portion is positioned on said first anvil, and while it is integral with said linear strip, with sufficient force to crimp said first portion of said terminal unit around said cable while simultaneously depressing said first anvil against its resilient bias, said second anvil being constructed and arranged to rigidly support a second portion of said terminal unit during the depression of said first anvil whereby said second portion is bent relative to said first portion to form an angle terminal assembly, and said blade being constructed and arranged to simultaneously sever a preceding terminal assembly from that being formed.
 2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said feed means comprises a finger constructed and arranged to abut the rear ends of successive terminal units and being connected by operative linkage to a cam follower, said cam follower being in engagement with a cam, said cam being reciprocably movable relative to said base in conjunction wiht said die means, said cam being constructed and arranged to act through said cam follower and linkage to move said finger toward said first anvil during initial movement of said die means toward said base, and biasing means resiliently urging said finger in the opposite direction.
 3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said finger is provided with a manually actuatable handle constructed and arranged to withdraw said finger from abutment against a terminal unit, said handle being resiliently biased against the withdrawal of said finger.
 4. The machine of claim 2 wherein a second pivoted finger is positioned on said table in linearly spaced relation to said first-mentioned finger, the spacing therebetween corresponding to the length of a terminal unit, said second finger being constructed and arranged to abut against the rear end of the next succeeding terminal unit to prevent kickback during severance of a completed assembly.
 5. The machine of claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means is a crank shaft connected to an acutating motor. 